1931, Oct 5th: "Gladstones Surprise Rough Riders To Win, 13-6"

Not THOSE Rough Riders. 

This partial article from the Ottawa Citizen summarizes one of three junior games played that day. It was the first weekend of action for the league as a whole, as it launched that year. 

I'll have summaries of the other two games played that day in separate posts. 

A portion of this article was used in a post on this blog a couple of years back in which I attempted to nail down the guy who threw the first-ever forward pass for an Ottawa team. Since this was the league's first year of operation, this Art Crain dude is likely the first to do it at the junior level.

There were two other games played that day, including St. Patrick's College vs Rangers, which started at the same time as the Gladstone / Ottawas match. Crain still seems likely to be the man, as his passing prowess appears to have taken place during the first quarter. We'll likely never know for sure, but a strong argument can be made for him.

Nov 18th, 1931: "Burghs Finally Win"

Everyone deserves their day in the sun. When researching sports history, it's easy to be focused on the great accomplishments like championship victories, record-setting performances, first-time events, etc.

I enjoy coming across that unexpected moment of glory. I feel for anyone going through a winless season and therefore find stories like the one below enjoyable.

The Junior City League page is getting some additions today. Its first season, in 1931, culminated with St. Patrick's narrowly besting Gladstone by a score of 02-01 in the championship game. The summary for that contest has been added to the league's page above but I'll instead draw some attention to a late-season game in which New Edinburgh pulled out its first victory after an 0-6 start. They could have tanked like the Rangers team apparently did but played through and were rewarded for it. Good for them.